Difference Between EDDM and Direct Mail

What’s the Difference Between EDDM and Direct Mail? EDDM vs Direct Mail

Posted on 23rd February, by Quan Luu in Printing, Services. Comments Off

Difference Between EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) and Direct Mail – The primary difference between EDDM and Classic Direct Mail is the audience that receives it. EDDM is more location based targeting, in that you choose particular USPS routes that mail carriers take, and hit every door via direct mail. This option is effective if you’re looking for an area targeted blast, especially if you have a storefront located in the vicinity of the area you choose. You can also select the zip codes to send the cards out in.

One of the main benefits for using EDDM is that it’s cheap in postage, and you can send it out to an entire area. That means maximum exposure to your brand, and its term in the industry is referred to as “saturation mail”. EDDM is also far easier to put into practice than Direct Mail, since it doesn’t require you to purchase mailing lists from a third party source. Just print your cards, pick your routes, and send your blast.

EDDM isn’t without drawbacks, however. The actual response rate for EDDM is lower than targeted direct mail. The printing cost is also higher, since the USPS has specific size requirements of all EDDM postcards.

Direct Mail is similar to EDDM in that it’s also in the mail advertising category. The difference, however, is that Direct Mail campaigns are targeted based on your preference. You can purchase mailing lists from third party companies that let you choose demographics such as age, race, gender, income level, and other variable data. This allows your targeted campaign to hone in on only those individuals you believe will have the highest response rate, and indeed that is what past results show.

Other advantages of using Direct mail is that you can use standard postcards successfully, which drastically reduces the cost of printing. The response rates are typically double than EDDM, based on various anecdotal reports around the web.

Drawbacks include the time required from start to finish, which is anywhere from 2-4 weeks from commencing to the point it finally reaches the mailbox of your audience. You also need to deal with other entities and buy the postcards and mailing lists (although some companies, including UZ Marketing allows you to purchase both at the same time). You also need to get postal certifications from the post office before being granted permission to use direct mail.